Nawaz evades question on ‘prison poisoning’

Former PM says the person who poisoned him should be asked the question

Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif evaded a question of being allegedly poisoned during incarceration in Pakistan, saying the “one who poisoned him” should be asked about the matter.

On Friday, party’s senior vice president and Nawaz’s daughter, Maryam, in an interview to a private TV channel, claimed that her father was poisoned in jail.

According to Maryam, the poisoning had caused a significant drop in Nawaz’s platelet count, which had put his life in danger.

She further claimed that some individuals allowed her father to leave the country for medical treatment as they were concerned about his deteriorating health.

She also claimed that then premier Imran Khan was involved in the alleged poisoning.

Read more: Nawaz's disqualification continues to haunt ex-CJ

Later, in a video shared on social media, a journalist asked the PML-N supremo if he was poisoned during captivity.

Nawaz replied that the person who poisoned him should be asked the question.

An accountability court had sentenced Nawaz to 10 years in prison in 2018 for owning assets beyond known income and one year for not cooperating with the National Accountability Bureau in the Avenfield reference.

In the same year, he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference with two fines — Rs1.5 billion and $25 million.

The PML-N supreme leader left for London in November 2019 after the PTI government removed his name from the exit control list. He has remained in London since.